TWGOK Side Story: The POV of another Substitute Teacher
by ZeonTwoSix
Summary: A not-so-usual substitute teacher enters the backdrop of Maijima Academy with his demon buddy, a separate mission from New Hell, and a resolve to stop a looming threat. Will run side-by-side with the events of the Heart of Jupiter Arc, so expect a reasonably long gap in between updates...
1. PRELUDE

**PRELUDE**

"Hmm~?"

I look at my alarm clock beside my bed. It read 5:50 AM. It is a bit earlier than expected, to be honest. I remembered waking up a few hours later than this during my college days.

But this is a different scenario now. I then look at the wall to my right, and there hanged a solo picture of me wearing my toga, diploma in my right hand. Yeah, I just got my Masters degree in Education, major in English, from a university in Kyoto a few months ago. And thanks to making phone calls left and right, I finally landed a job.

It was just for a part-time basis as an English teacher in Maijima Academy, but the opportunity is just too good to pass off.

"Guess it's time to begin the rest of my life for once," I said, as I fixed myself and my bed.

Then I heard a knock at the door.

"Breakfast is ready!"

I then left my room and headed for the dining hall. There I saw the small but modest table laid out like a typical breakfast, with the usual rice, eggs, and a plate of honey-glazed beef strips.

"It seems you're ready for your first day as a teacher, Suzaku. Here's hoping things get a bit more interesting for you than I expect," said the woman with medium-length, dark green hair which was tied up with a small hairband below the neck.

"Let's not complicate things, Sylvia," I said, after flushing a morsel of beef from my mouth. "We do not have any other 'capture targets' for now, so let's just keep it on the low. Besides, you did say that there were about 3 other members of the RSS in the immediate vicinity, right?"

"I guess I did," she said, while uttering a very light chuckle. "I still want to meet them for myself. Just to be sure I'm not doing this job alone…"

I guess it's good to point out this late in the game that I was not always this ordinary. I, Suzaku Shinozaki, am a human "buddy" to a member of New Hell's Runaway Spirit Squad for more than two years now. And the new devil I was paired with for the entirety of that period up until now is the woman seated in front of me - Sylvia du Lac Vindictus.

A few minutes have passed now, and everything in the small, but decent apartment space I have rented was cleaned up. With that done, I finally boarded my bicycle and left for Maijima Academy. Sylvia was not far behind, wearing a black coat and her green Hagoromo wrapped around.

Also, she's keeping herself afloat while riding her Scythe of Testament – which according to her was given to her about half a century ago after graduating with flying colors. So far, it has seen its share of use, with only one horn remaining after having encountered a total of 3 Level-4 Weiss. But that's for another story.

Right now, all I am concerned with is my new job at Maijima Academy. I cannot wait to start teaching the students at the high school department. And my first assignment: English class at Class 2-B.


	2. ALT-FLAG 01: Quick to Panic?

**ALT-FLAG 01: Quick to Panic?**

"Hey, who's that?"

"Must be the other substitute teacher they were talking about a few days ago."

"Really? He looks relatively young. Handsome even…"

"Heard that he's just a substitute teacher, but he got his Masters degree at the age of 21."

"Wow! He must be good. Anyways, who's he going to replace for the time being?"

"They said it's Kodama-sensei, since he's gone off for a long vacation. Somewhere in Hawaii, I heard."

"Sigh. That guy sure gets it big, but seems to act more than a hothead rather than a teacher..."

X-X-X-X-X-X

The ramblings went on as Suzaku passed through the hallway of Maijima's High School Department. Within just minutes inside the complex, he's been getting lots of glances from students. Some students who were loitering were quick to throw a glare at him, being a teacher and all.

It was expected to happen anyway as he was wearing a black long coat over his pepper-gray turtleneck shirt, hiding the hellion collar on his neck. Still, that did not stop him from giving out a detective aura.

It was another story with the female demographic however, as he instantly became a heartthrob. Others flustered upon seeing his dark purple eyes. Others fainted when he occasionally threw a stepford smile or two at their direction.

"It seems the purple contact lenses were drawing too much attention. I should consult this to Sylvia, see what she thinks," he thought, as he walked closer into the front door of Class 2-B.

Inside, the class was in their usual "relax" mood: some boys huddling over a dude who bought a magazine, some girls talking about their favorite TV idols and such, and a few others doing their business.

"It's quite a sight, seeing you this early for your first class, Shinozaki." The voice came from the High school principal, who just arrived a few seconds after Suzaku. "I'll let you get familiar with the class for a few minutes. After that, you can settle in at the Faculty room."

"Thank you, Mr. Principal," he responded, with a light nod.

X-X-X-X-X-X

"All Stand!"

"Good Morning, Mr. Principal!" said the entire 2-B, as the Principal stood in front of the teacher's table.

"Good Morning, class," he responded. "As you already know, Mr. Kodama Ichiro recently left our school to pursue his 3-month Doctorate in English in Hawaii, and to allow him to get his share of rest. The good news is, in his place, we have his temporary substitute with us today."

As expected, some of Class 2-B breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that they would not be seeing their loudmouth teacher for quite a while. Others were already speculating as to who will replace him.

"Man, I sure hope the new teacher's like our previous one, Nagase-sensei."

"Yeah. I always feel at ease with female teachers around; especially the ones who have "assets" to die for."

"Mind getting your minds out of the gutter, guys?" said a random female from the class. "We'd rather have a handsome guy that would dispel the nightmares we usually get when Kodama-sensei's in the room!"

"Yeah, about time we get our share of motivation for once."

"Settle down, class," the principal commanded. "Let me introduce him now so that you could gauge yourself."

He motioned to the door, which opened to reveal a guy clad in his knee-length long coat.

"Greetings, class!" he said, facing the students. "My name is Shinozaki Suzaku, and I will be pitching in for Kodama-sensei as your English teacher for the rest of the year. I hope we get along properly, okay?"

2-B suddenly went silent for 5 seconds.

"…"

Then the girls erupted in squee.

"Okay, Shinozaki-kun. I'll leave you with the class for now. Do your best," said the Principal, as he exited the classroom.

"Uh… Thank you, sir…" Suzaku said, as he felt a drop of sweat run down his right cheek.

"_Alright now, Suzaku; keep your cool and do your job. You did not just graduate from university for nothing," _he said to himself.

He eventually got everyone to settle down.

"Class, since this is just our first session together, I would like to see how much you've gone on your lessons with Kodama-sensei. Next meeting, I want you to write your experiences over the past month. In English. And, to top it off, I will be selecting some of your works to be recited in front of everyone."

The class quickly changed their mood upon getting the assignment from Suzaku. They thought that they would be able to relax, but no; they got their hands tied to work.

"I know you guys are a bit disappointed, but think about it: you have had your annual school festival. I think you would have a lot to write about."

Unfortunately, the class stayed as gloomy as before.

"Tell you what: I will leave you all for the rest of today's session in order to give you a head start on your assignment. I think it is a proper "compromise", right?"

The class responded a bit more positively now, since they'd get a few hours of reprieve.

"I'll see you all next meeting then. Take care!"

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Well, that was quick. I thought I'd screw up that one." Suzaku let off a sigh as he headed for the Faculty Lounge. Upon reaching it, he made his greetings with the teachers there, and was escorted to his separate table. He went past Kodama's which had a note stuck on it:

X-X-X-X-X-X

'Note to all: DO NOT TOUCH!'

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Um, guess that's one reason for the separate table…"

They gave him a decent table space near the water dispenser. There, he unloaded some of the books he brought with him and arranged them according to height. He then proceeded to make preparations for the following sessions with other classes.

A few minutes have passed when a dark-haired woman approached him.

"You must be Kodama's substitute. I heard you went straight for 2-B when you arrived."

Suzaku turned and saw the woman who spoke to him.

"Hmmn… Ms. Nikaido Yuri, right? A pleasure to meet you." He said, while reaching out for a handshake.

"I was expecting you to arrive a few days later. I guess you did not waste a single second coming in here." She said, letting out a light grin.

"Maybe a bit too early, to be honest." Suzaku responded, rising from his seat. "Mind if we have this discussion somewhere else?"

"As you wish then," was her response.

X-X-X-X-X-X

The two then went to the rooftop. Luckily, no one was around, so Suzaku continued the discussion.

"I heard from my Demon partner that a lot had happened during the past few weeks here in this school. That was apart from the message regarding the organization called 'Vintage', and the eventual capture and death of Dokuro Skull."

Nikaido nodded in response.

"To be honest, I was not expecting Dokuro to turn up as their leader in the first place. It was clear that there were some 'manipulations' behind the scenes. She must have realized this and tried to quell the crisis down, even at her own expense."

"But that's not the main issue here, is it?" he uttered.

"I figured you would say that. Rimyuel and I have been doing some further surveillance on the matter. It seems there were others who were planning another Almage Machina with some interesting 'chess pieces'."

"You don't mean the Level-5 Weiss?"

"Unfortunately, yes. But there's another target. During the term tests, one of my students was reported to have made a public confession to another."

"You're talking about the issue regarding the idol singer Nakagawa Kanon, right?"

"Yes. I tried to follow her when she parted ways with the man she was with. When I got to her, she was apparently stabbed by a Vintage agent named Lune."

"Wait, you were saying she was stabbed? But what about her appearances on Television?"

"Apparently, the Kanon that appeared there was a stand-in for her; she is also one of my students in class… and a member of the Runaway Spirit Squad."

"Okay. I'll need some names here if I were to make some sense into the situation."

"Very well…"

Nikaido then pulled out a couple of folders and gave then to Suzaku.

"The guy in the other folder is her human buddy. Together, they have made about 14 captures. Also, the boy was found to have revealed all the rumored vessels of the Jupiter Sisters."

"I see…"

Suzaku then opened both folders revealing their student profiles. The girl had a long ponytail, a spirit sensor on her hair, a pink Hagoromo, and a broom. The boy had glasses and a bed hair sticking out from the back of his head. He turned his attention to the boy and quickly looked for his name…

"Katsuragi Keima, huh… I think I can start from here…"


	3. ALT-FLAG 02A: Vox Populi I

**ALT-FLAG 2A: Vox Populi I**

X-X-X-X-X-X

Back at the faculty lounge, Suzaku thumbed over the rest of his paperwork. It was just his first day as a teacher, but he had already conducted a pop quiz in English. Well, it was from Class 3-D, the group under Kodama's care as homeroom teacher, so it comes as no surprise.

"Alright, time to do some checking on these papers," he uttered as he picked up one of the answer sheets. So far he's quite satisfied by the way the student applied Kodama's teachings. Although he had expected superbly high grades from the class, the first one only netted an 85 out of 100 points; plausibly great by normal standards, but not exactly of the same caliber as to Kodama's standards.

An hour had passed by, and Suzaku had finished half of the papers. So far his impressions on the students' performances were hilariously polarized.

"Was it really the students' fault for this performance, or was it Kodama's?" he asked himself silently, while letting out a light chuckle.

"Anyway, I'll just finish up the rest at home," he said, while placing the unchecked papers in his briefcase. "I don't know if I should be angry or laughing here…"

He then glanced at the folders placed at the right corner of his table - the same ones that Nikaido gave him during their talk at the rooftop. Opening the folder that contained the supposed demon buddy's profile, he called Sylvia.

"Hello, Sylvia? Suzaku speaking. I hope it's not too much on your part, but would you mind helping me out here?"

"I don't know, Suza-kun," said his demon buddy on the other end of the line. "I'm at the mall right now, looking for something fashionable after having finished my grocery duty."

"Better not be overspending again. Anyways, Mind looking into your RSS roster list as to the name 'Elsie'? Her New Hell educational records, known associates, the works."

"Why the piqued interest in another demon?"

"I just met with Rimyuel's human buddy a few hours ago. I'll discuss to you the rest at dinner."

"That means you'll be tackling the info on her human buddy?"

"You could say that. Anyways, hanging up now; I'm going to proceed with the human buddy info gathering."

"Good luck then, Suza-kun. I'll see you home."

X-X-X-X-X-X

After the phone call, Suzaku started to thumb through Katsuragi's profile. In stark contrast to the test papers that he checked before, his grades were just nothing short of stellar. Almost all of his grades are hitting the highest possible ranks. Well, save for PE and apparently one test that Kodama gave in the summer – the sole 99 out of the rest of the perfect 100 grades.

He turned to the other teachers present in the lounge. "Um, I'm sorry if I was bothering you guys or anything. I'm just curious as to this student named Katsuragi Keima. Can anyone enlighten me about him?"

One of the professors slowly approached him. "Ah, the one they call 'Otamegane', right?"

"Otamegane?"

"Yeah, that is what the high school students call him. He's a brilliant kid when it comes to exams, but a real pain in the neck during regular sessions."

Another teacher added: "The reason he's called that is because of his obsession over dating sims, or _galge_. He is so addicted to them that he would even use his PFP in the middle of class, without even paying attention to us teachers."

"Kodama-san was the most infuriated among us teachers regarding Katsuragi. He tends to see the kid as one hell of an obstacle to take out, but all his efforts were so far in vain."

"Until that one certain written exam during the summer," said the other teacher, while pointing to a framed test paper in Kodama's desk. "He was jumping in glee when he found that Katsuragi incurred one mistake in that test. So much that he was approving club proposals left and right."

"Yeah, that was actually the only time I've seen Kodama in complete bliss, to be honest."

Meanwhile, deep in Suzaku's inner thoughts…

"Good grief, I was just asking info about this kid, and they go on ranting as if they view him as a problem child or something. Should not have even bothered to ask in the first place…"

X-X-X-X-X-X

Later that night, back at the apartment…

"So, any luck as to the info gathering regarding the kid, Suza-kun?" asked Sylvia, who was cleaning up the dishes in the sink.

"None so far, Sylvia," he replied while taking a sip of hot chocolate from his mug. "The teachers are not that much of a help to be honest."

"Maybe he really was that much of a geek. I mean come on, dating sims in the middle of class? If that's not obsession, I don't know what is."

"We'll see once we gather more info. Speaking of which, how about the assignment I gave you; any leads?"

"Yeah, I got leads alright…"

Sylvia set up her Hagoromo like a computer screen in front of Suzaku. "There are quite a lot of demons in new hell, but a few in the RSS with the name 'Elsie', and one matching the descriptions you gave me."

The screen then pops out a dossier of an RSS member written in Hellian. With a flick of the wrist, Sylvia had the same translated for Suzaku's convenience.

"Elsea de Lute Irma, normal graduate of the RSS Academy, spent most of her post academy days as a cleaning demon before Dokuro Skull gave her an assignment as an RSS unit in Area 30-2. So far, she had the highest capture rate in proportion to her length of service: 14 recorded 'captures' as of late within the year."

"How about her known associates?"

"Well, she's close friends with Area 32 District Chief Haqua du Lot Herminium, since they graduated from the Academy at the same time, and that she helped her on one Runaway Spirit capture. Apart from that, not much."

"Hmmn…" Suzaku pondered on as to the info. "How about the list of her previous captures?"

"I am still compiling the complete list. Had a bit of a problem regarding the info on two captures."

"Just fill me in on the twelve that you've compiled."

"Okay then." Sylvia then displayed the list of the 12 capture targets recorded into Elsea's dossier.

"Well I'd be…"

"What is it, Suza-kun?"

"Out of the list you've given me, eight of them are in the same school and three of them in the same class as our demon."

With a few taps in the Hagoromo screen, he highlighted the following three names, by order of capture date: Takahara Ayumi, Nakagawa Kanon, and Kosaka Chihiro.

"Something on your mind, Suza-kun?"

"Yeah. But I'll have to tackle this carefully. I am still very short on info, especially regarding the so-called 'looming Level-5 threat' and the involvement of Elsea's human buddy."

"Guess our trip to Maijima just got a lot more interesting…"

"Yeah. Try reviewing that 'last message' you got from Dokuro again. Might give us a clue of some sort…"


	4. ALT-FLAG 02B: Vox Populi II

_X=X=X=INCOMING TRANSMISSION=X=X=X_

gamingunknown1: Appreciate your interest in the story. Do note that this will be a lot more sluggish than most stories, since I'm trying to synchronize this with the events of the Jupiter Arc, AND I got IRL BS to take care of, being a Law student and all. And don't worry, you'll learn about her as the story picks up speed…

_X=X=X=END TRANSMISSION=X=X=X_

**ALT-FLAG 2B: Vox Populi II**

X-X-X-X-X-X

_Operative Vindictus:_

_By the time you read this message, I would have been either captured or executed for having connections with the faction known as Vintage. For that, this will be my very last letter of instruction to you as head of the Runaway Spirit Squad._

_As of this moment, the true "masterminds" behind Vintage's existence has abandoned the former group. They merely used Vintage for their ambitions regarding the Weiss and the Goddesses who sealed them in the first place: the Jupiter Sisters._

_Unfortunately, they overlooked one factor in all of this: the man known as the 'God of Conquest'._

_For that reason, they have already sent some operatives back in time, particularly a few days before the Great Runaway Spirit Escape, in order to rewrite history to a certain extent. Their mission is to exploit every possible option, making sure that the child who is to be the God of Conquest would not get involved in the affairs of New Hell in any manner, even if it meant 'elimination.'_

_I, on the other hand, will not let this pass._

_I have already instructed District Chiefs Herminium and Leoria with the first phase of the counterattack: they are to give my "memento" to the current self of the God of Conquest, before he and his demon buddy are sent back to the past, in order to prevent any abrupt changes in this timeline._

_But I figured that with him unable to react as he is now and with the Jupiter Sisters still in hiding after sealing off Vintage's Weiss Incubation chambers, there's no telling if and when a greater threat would come. My closest guess is that the enemy had already developed fully-evolved Level-5 Weiss someplace, and they will deploy them as soon as possible in order to draw out the Jupiter Sisters._

_For that reason, I am ordering you and your buddy to meet up with Operative Rimyuel and her human buddy to prolong the looming threat AND resolve the same before it goes out of control. Find out when, why, and how the enemy will use the Level-5 Weiss and the Goddesses. Also, try to watch over the God of Conquest until his current self has returned. Make sure no one (and I mean __no one__) gets close to eliminating him._

_May the spirits of good fortune favor us all in this time of great crisis… _

_Signing out… for real,_

_Dokuro Skull._

X-X-X-X-X-X

"Sigh. I still think this message is a bit vague in itself," Sylvia thought, while a copy of the letter was flashed though her Hagoromo. "I'm not even sure as to who the hosts of these 'Jupiter Sisters' are."

"Well, one thing's for certain here," Suzaku replied, after taking a sip of his morning coffee. "We are to cooperate with Nikaido-sensei and Rimyuel in case the Level-5's come out."

"How about the guy known as the 'God of Conquest' then? Aren't we going to do something about him?"

"You mean Katsuragi Keima?"

"Wait, you're telling me that the guy known in school as _Otamegane_ is actually this 'God of Conquest' guy?"

"Deducing the info we have for now, it's safe to assume that he is," Suzaku clarified, having finished his breakfast. "Anyways, we need to ramp up our info collection a bit. But we need to maintain discreetness; we do not need more attention than we have now."

Sylvia nodded in approval. "I think it would be more appropriate for me to infiltrate the Academy as well, just to be sure."

"I'd suggest otherwise. Honestly, your physical appearance is more of a young adult rather than a high-school student. And I doubt that you're convincing enough as a teacher."

"Well, how about I introduce myself as your girlfriend then?"

Suzaku raised his right eyebrow, following with a surprised "What?"

"Well, think about it," Sylvia uttered, as she approached Suzaku in a coy, yet slightly flirty manner. "If people are to look at the two of us, they'd probably see us as sweethearts or something with a four-to-five year age gap."

Suzaku let off a chuckle.

"What, what's so funny?" the female demon asked.

"Nothing much," Suzaku replied. "To think that you'd even entertain the thought of us acting like sweethearts as our cover…"

He then gave a light smile to Sylvia, whose cheeks immediately turned red. She quickly backed off and turned away.

"Well, whatever…"

Suzaku chuckled again at his demon buddy's reaction.

X-X-X-X-X-X

Hours later, the duo camp at the rooftop of one of the school buildings. Sylvia has her Hagoromo set up like a laptop, while Suzaku has a pair of binoculars on hand scouting on the campus grounds.

"You still have yet to answer my qualm during breakfast. How are we going to learn about the identities of these Goddesses and their hosts? We'd be no different from the ones at Vintage."

"I know," Suzaku replied while peeking through the binoculars. "And besides, you told me that New Hell's Public Safety Department already expunged all data that Vintage managed to gather, right?"

"Yeah, and we're basically working with a large jigsaw puzzle, with loads of missing pieces."

"You could say that. Anyways, mind bringing up the captures list in Elsea's file again?"

"Well, unless you have other ideas, this won't be of any help to be honest."

Suzaku then brought up a copy of Kodama's class record which he uses for reference. He then flips through the Second-Year students' pages, beginning with 2A. He then highlights in pink the names Aoyama Mio, Goidou Yui, and Kujo Tsukiyo, matching their names to the list in Elsea's dossier. He suddenly skips the 2-B class list, which surprised his demon buddy.

"Suza-kun, I think you forgot Class 2-B…"

"Just let me finish this one first."

He then glanced back at the dossier and turned again to the class list, highlighting the name Shiomiya Shiori.

"Now, allow me to explain this one, Sylvia…"

He now goes over the list for Class 2-B.

"Remember the three names I selected from the dossier last night?" He then proceeded to highlight Ayumi, Kanon, and Chihiro from his list.

"Okay, what of them?"

"Well, I had this theory last night that the captures that previously had Weiss inside them were somehow closely related to our human-demon buddy pair," he said, while highlighting the names of the Katsuragi siblings in yellow.

"Which meant that some of them may possibly have the Goddesses inside them, right?"

"Yeah; Nikaido relayed to me earlier that there actually six of these Goddesses who once sealed the Weiss during the Almage Machina, and our God of Conquest had unveiled them all."

"But you highlighted seven names in that list. One of them may not have a Goddess at all."

Suzaku then got thinking. He knew that his demon buddy was right. There's no certainty yet that the girls he highlighted in the list would be hosts to the Goddesses.

Suddenly, their attention was redirected. Sylvia's Weiss Detector started beeping like crazy.

"Hold on, let me calibrate this."

She tapped the sensor to switch off the beeps, but to no avail.

"That's funny. There should be no one else within a hundred-meter radius, since it can only detect Weiss within that range. And I already have the silent diversion barrier set up well beyond that."

"Something must be wrong," Suzaku said, rising from his seat. He then pointed the binoculars towards the rest of the school grounds until he chanced upon the main building.

"Good grief." He then passed the binoculars to Sylvia, who then peered towards the same direction.

"What's with that large miasma signature? I thought there were no more energy traces after the festival."

Suzaku walked towards the building's edge nearest to the miasma source. Quickly, he spotted about five to seven figures walking towards the Main Building, carrying what appears to be another one which was leaking with miasma.

"It seems we have found our God of Conquest."

Sylvia approached her buddy from the right. By this time, a large barrier was forming around the target surrounded by miasma. She converted her Hagoromo into a camera and turned to Suzaku, who motioned to her with a nod.

"Focus on the other figures who are with the Katsuragi siblings," he said.

Sylvia quickly snapped photos of the girls who are with them, when suddenly she caught sight of two more figures approaching them. After getting the photos, she turned and zoomed to the other two figures.

"And it seems those two must be District Chiefs Herminium and Leoria."

She then caught sight of Nora handing a small bag to a girl who had odango hair tied up with two ribbons, and who was wearing a different uniform from the rest of the Goddesses.

"You got the pictures of the Goddesses, Sylvia."

"Yes. I'll have them processed now."

Within a minute, her Hagoromo spat out six photos. Suzaku took the photos and compared them to both the captures list in Elsea's Dossier and his class lists. Afterwards, he made five checkmarks on his list.

"Now we know at least the identities of five of these Goddess hosts," he said, handing his copy of the list to Sylvia.

"Okay, what do you want me to do now?"

"Try speaking to the two District Chiefs about what happened. Make sure you introduce yourself properly, and if possible make mention of Dokuro's letter."

"After that?"

"Follow that Goddess Host with the odango hair and different uniform. Gather the necessary info, and then return to me so we can plan the next move…"

X-X-X-X-X-X


	5. ALT-FLAG 03A: Lies Greed Misery I

**ALT-FLAG 3A: Lies Greed Misery I**

X=X=X=X=X=X

As the two district chiefs left the school grounds, Suzaku and Sylvia were forced to split up; the former had another class that day and needed to get back to work. That left his demon buddy to proceed with the mission by briefly tailing the girl with odango hair.

Knowing that she'd probably lose sight of her as she spoke to the other demons, she brought out a blow gun and loaded it with a small tracking beacon rolled inside a sticky pellet. Taking careful aim, she fired at the target. The beacon landed at her left ribbon, somewhat hidden from view.

"That'll keep me noted of her location. Time to have a word with those two..."

X=X=X=X=X=X

Back at the academy, it was another session with Suzaku and Class 2B. He proceeded with the roll call when he noticed a few vacant seats.

"I understand that Miss Nakagawa could not attend classes due to her idol singer status, but I need to know why Takahara and the Katsuragi siblings are absent today."

The class remained silent for a few seconds. Then one of the students raised her hand.

"Um, sensei…"

He called the attention of the girl seated right in front of one of the vacant seats at the back.

"What is it, Terada-san?"

"Ayumi just called me a few minutes ago before class; she said that she had to go home to take care of something important."

"Well, emergency or not, if she doesn't give me a valid explanation the next time we meet, I'm afraid I would have to give her an absent mark for today. Please relay that to her, okay?"

She replied with a nod.

"Well, that settles one. Now about the other two; anyone have ideas as to where they are?"

Unfortunately this time, no response.

"Anyway, let's get to our main agenda for today. Has everyone finished their assignments?" The class replied affirmatively in unison.

"Okay, pass them all to the front."

Within minutes, the class handed their assignments to Suzaku, while he brought out his class list. Upon receiving the papers, he immediately checked to see if everyone submitted theirs. Then he noticed something.

"_Hmmn... Something's amiss here…" _he thought.

He quickly counted the papers and checked the same with his class list. So far, he knew that those absent – Kanon, Ayumi, and the Katsuragi Siblings – would not be able to pass the assignment. But he noticed that another student did not submit hers.

"_If I call her attention now, I might cause a commotion. I'll just proceed with the usual routine then confront her personally…"_

With that, Suzaku called out a few names – about five students – for the oral presentation. Each of them proceeded to read their essays in English with slightly more satisfactory results compared to Class 3-D's pop quiz results from before.

About two hours later, he dismissed 2-B for the day. But he then called on the attention of one student while the rest were about to leave.

"Miss Kosaka?"

The girl he called approached the teacher's table.

"Is there anything wrong, sensei?"

"Yes," he calmly replied. "I went through the papers that were submitted to me recently, and I did not find your name among them."

"Um… I don't know how to explain this, sensei," she uttered, while nervously twiddling her fingers.

"Well first up, that 'dog-ate-my-paper' shtick won't work on me, since I've tried that long ago during my student days…"

"Honestly sensei, I _really_ am having a hard time wording my experiences during the Mai-High festival," she said, bowing her head in regret. "So much had happened that I can't even decide on where to start."

Suzaku got thinking for a few seconds. Then he fixed his paperwork into his briefcase.

"Tell you what, Kosaka. I'll give you another chance to submit the same assignment, but under one condition: you _will_ have to recite that in front of class next week. Whatever it may contain."

"Uh… I understand, sir."

"If you're still having problems regarding the flow of your essay, feel free to visit me at the faculty lounge…"

X=X=X=X=X=X

Meanwhile at the other side of town, Sylvia managed to catch up with the district chiefs as they entered one of the houses in the area. She waited at a rooftop about a block away in order not to arouse suspicion.

A few hours have passed. So far, none of the two have exited the house, and she's getting bored.

"*YAWN* This stake-out bit is getting me nowhere…"

Then she noticed one of them leave the premises. Immediately, she tagged the house where the two have been, then proceeded to follow the white-haired one who had just blitzed away.

The pursuit lasted for a few minutes until the District Chief decided to land in an empty lot.

"Vindictus, I presume?"

"Your senses are as sharp as ever, Leoria. I'm still surprised that you could keep your rage and ego in check so efficiently. Unlike the last time we met."

Nora immediately charged towards Sylvia with one of her steel spiked clubs, which the latter blocked and parried with her scythe. The two then immediately made some good distance from each other.

"Ah, the ol' full frontal assault. Never get tired of that one, eh?"

"As long as it works…"

"I see that you've been honing your reflexes well. That was somewhat faster than before."

"Are you just here to compliment me?"

Sylvia then lowered down her Scythe. "Honestly, no. I'm just here on orders of the late chief to help out on the situation."

"Really now…" Nora dropped her club to the ground, looking to seize the hostilities.

"That's right; you just play it cool for now," Sylvia uttered.

Suddenly, Nora drew out three darts and quickly threw them towards Sylvia. In response, the latter shielded herself with the face of her scythe.

"Like I'd drop my guard that easily…" With that, Nora threw a smoke bomb and escaped. Sylvia ended up scratching her head in confusion.

"Well, that cookie sure is hard to break. Better see that other District Chief; I'm sure she's a lot more reasonable…"

X=X=X=X=X=X


	6. ALT-FLAG 03B: Lies Greed Misery II

**ALT-FLAG 3B: Lies Greed Misery II**

X=X=X=X=X=X

Meanwhile back at the Academy, Suzaku is now conducting English class with 2-A. Just like the other classes in the Second Year level, he gave them the same assignment as 2-B. So far, the students there have shown a satisfactory performance, and had completed their assignments properly.

Still, he was looking more into the papers of Goidou Yui and Kujo Tsukiyo, two of the 'Goddess hosts' that he just confirmed hours ago. He was curious that these two still attended class, while the other 'host' at Class 2-B, who he expected to be present, did not.

And then there's the essay papers they made. Looking at them back and forth, he could not just believe what he discovered: between the two essays lay not just a common theme, but a common name: Katsuragi Keima.

Thus, before he dismissed the class for the day, he requested Tsukiyo and Yui for a small talk at the rooftop. Unfortunately, the former had to attend to her duties as a member of the Astronomy Club, so only Yui arrived at the designated meeting place.

On the rooftop, the woman in Men's uniform saw Suzaku looking over the school grounds. Since it was slightly windy at that time, his long coat was waving to his right. That did not deter his stance though – a pose comparable to a general overseeing the battle inside a command center… or an evil villain plotting his next ambitions for global domination.

This made Yui a bit uneasy as she approached him.

"Sensei," said Yui. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Suzaku then slowly turned to the student. "Nothing much, really. And you don't need to feel uneasy when you're with me. I won't bite," he said.

He then invited Yui to sit on one of the benches near the tree. "I want to talk to you about your essay. I just read through yours and Miss Kujo's and I noticed something in common."

"Such as?"

"Both of you made mention of Katsuragi Keima, one of my students at Class 2-B. Is there something I don't know about that I need to know now?"

Yui's cheeks turned a bit red.

"Um, I don't know much about Keima-kun and Tsukiyo-san though…"

"Hmmn, as expected of a girl of her age, despite the manly clothing…" was the thought running through Suzaku's head.

Then Yui quickly composed herself and blurted out "…but as far as I'm concerned I'm actually in love with him."

Suzaku felt surprised at her statement. "Uh, that was quite bold of her…" he thought.

"Can you elaborate on that statement, Goidou-san?"

"Uh… where should I start with this," She scratched her head in confusion, which prompted Suzaku to let off a light grunt. Clearly, she was still withdrawn about the matter notwithstanding her straightforward answer.

"Okay, next question," Suzaku said as he stretched his arms. "You said in your essay that you performed with your band during the last day of the festival, right?"

Yui nodded in response. "I actually had a blast that time, being able to play drums with my fellow members of the Light Music Club. But were it not for that encounter with Keima-kun, I could have been ordered by my mother to stay home."

"I understand that feeling, Goidou-san. Anyways, who were the other members of your band, if I may ask?"

"Well," she started counting down the names through her fingers. "There's me as the drummer, Terada-san on keyboard, Keima-kun's sister Elsie on bass, Ayumi-san on guitar, and Chihiro-san on vocals."

"And I heard you girls got to perform with Nakagawa Kanon that night, am I correct?"

"Yeah. How did you know about that, Sensei?"

"Well, I just went through Terada-san's essay and saw both your names there. And she made mention of the same thing."

Just then, Suzaku's phone rang. He excused himself from the bench and answered it. "Hello, Shinozaki speaking…"

"Hello Suzaku, Nikaido here. I got one of my students here in the Faculty lounge. She wants to consult you about something."

"Ah, must be Miss Kosaka. I know this may be too much, but could you kindly tell her to proceed to the rooftop? I'm almost done with my conversation with another student here."

He heard Nikaido let out a sigh. "Okay, Suzaku. I'll tell her to go there."

"Thanks, I owe you one…"

Just then, Yui stood from her position in shock while looking at her watch. "Oh man. I'm almost late for my appointment!"

"It must be important, Goidou-san. I'll let you off for now, but please do tell Kujo-san to come see me when she has time, okay?

Yui nodded then bowed to her teacher as thanks. As she was about to reach the door, Suzaku said "oh by the way, you still owe me an explanation regarding your experience with Katsuagi-san, okay?" while giving a wink. She blushed brighter than before, as she left the rooftop.

X=X=X=X=X=X

Meanwhile, on the other side of town…

"Haqua-chan! I'm going to the sales office for a while! Will you be ok for today?"

The call came from a reasonably petite, 57-year-old woman. She was wearing a pink blouse under her jacket that bore the word "Gokult", as she left the house.

"How long until you get back, Yukie?" The reply came from a young lady with long, purple hair who was looking out through one of the front windows.

"Oh, maybe a little over 9 in the evening. My fellow Gokult vendors invited me to a little get-together at a karaoke bar in Narusawa, right after we file our sales reports."

"Just be careful on your way home, okay Yukie?"

"You need not worry about me, Haqua-chan." She smiled and waved as she went on her way to Narusawa City. After the conversation, Haqua closed the window and sat on the couch facing the Television screen.

She began to think deep about the situation in New Hell. Just a few days ago, she was captured by the Public Safety Department for inciting Treason, then later getting an unexpected help from Dokuro in order to escape a possible execution for her actions. And now she finds out that the latter was immediately executed for being the leader of Vintage.

She just could not stomach it. The person who gave her the resolve to fight back at Vintage and redeem the pride of New Hell, disposed off like a rag doll? She shook her head, trying to suppress her emotions.

Just then, she heard a knock at the front door. She assumed for a worst-case scenario and grabbed on to her Scythe of Testament which was leaning on the wall near it.

Upon opening it, she saw a woman with dark-green hair, held together with a small hair band placed right below her nape. The latter also saw what appears to be a battle-worn Scythe of Testament.

"Hello, you must be the District Chief of Area 32, am I correct?"

"Yes. The name's Haqua du Lot Herminium, and you are…"

"Sylvia du Lac Vindictus," she uttered as he reached for a handshake. "I'm here on a special order from Dokuro-sama. Mind if I come in first?"

Feeling a sigh of relief, Haqua invited Sylvia in to the house. But, having met another new devil that she's not familiar with made her slightly suspicious. So while Sylvia rested her scythe on the wall, Haqua carried hers to the living room and rested beside her chair within arm's reach.

"Do make yourself at home. I'll just get us some juice and snacks," the purple-haired district chief said as she headed to the kitchen to serve some food for her guest. "I hope' you're okay with some Natto soup."

"You need not bother that much, Haqua, I'm just here to ask a few questions."

After a few minutes, Haqua emerged from the kitchen with two bowls of Natto soup and a pitcher of grape juice. "So, what brings a veteran new devil to this part of Japan?" she asked, while Sylvia poured some juice onto a cup.

"Well, my order from Chief Dokuro was to investigate as to possible attacks of Level-5 Weiss, particularly in this area where the rumored Goddesses sealed the Weiss during the closing days of Almage Machina."

"Level-5 Weiss?"

"Yes. Right now though, I'm here on orders from my human buddy to gather some information regarding the man known as the God of Conquest."

X=X=X=X=X=X


	7. ALT-FLAG 04: The Little Things

**ALT-FLAG 4: The Little Things Give You Away**

_-=-=-=-=INCOMING TRANSMISSION=-=-=-=-_

_This chapter was written about a few hours after this author had finished the last episode of the Goddesses Arc. For that reason, the first part shall be a recollection of the events directly from the eve of the Mai-High festival up until after the concert scene…_

_-=-=-=-=END TRANSMISSION=-=-=-=-_

_X-X-X- Flashback bit via Chihiro's POV-X-X-X_

_I just could not stand reliving those two fateful days of my life…_

_It was about seven days ago during the eve of the Mai-High festival. For others, it was just another time of celebration. But for me, it was something more. Something very close to my heart, in fact…_

_Or so I thought._

_At the end of that night, what supposedly was a great, positive, and romantic change in my life turned out to be the most devastating blow to my heart. The confession was made. The feelings deep inside my heart were delivered. The sacred first kiss was even planted for good measure._

_But I never thought I would be so foolish to even have done all those, only to be thrown down like a rag doll…_

_Still, I tried to stay strong the following day as our band, the 2-B Pencils were scheduled to perform at the last day of the festival. Even when I bumped into that man several times, I willed myself never to make mention, or a mere indication of regret, of what had happened on that fateful night._

_Sadly though, I was thrust into a part of the mess that he created. Not just me, but also my best friend Ayumi. I tried to beat some sense into him, in order to let him be more truthful to her, and to let him understand how she truly feels about him. He did take that advice to heart, and sort of succeeded with a bit of help from me and some acquaintances of his._

_Then we parted ways the morning before the concert…_

_I don't know why but by the time me and my band mates were performing, I could not hold my emotions. I knew that I was singing the song I created personally, so technically I should be proud. But I'm not._

_Maybe it's because the musical piece was completely about him – that same man who broke my heart two nights ago._

_Right after that song, I was a complete wreck. My hair was already messed up from the heat, and my guitar was slightly drenched, not just from my own sweat, but also from my tears. After we made our exit from the stage, I quickly packed my guitar. I did not even bother waiting for the results of that concert as I could not maintain my composure anymore. I could not even look at my band mates, much more celebrate with them for a job well done._

_I made it back home about half an hour later, and headed straight to bed. I merely placed my guitar on a space beside the door and did not even bother changing into my pajamas. I then brought out the guitar pick from my pocket, clenched it tight, and placed it over my chest. All while thinking of that same man, while continuing to cry myself to sleep._

"_Katsuragi, you idiot... Why?"_

_X-X-X-End Flashback-X-X-X_

"Hmmn… So that's what happened back then…"

Sylvia calmly said this while taking a sip of grape juice. "I was quite surprised that it escalated that much, especially as to your predicament."

"It was still quite fresh to me, to be honest," Haqua declared. "Having gone through all that humiliation and pain all because I had to raise a previously wild hunch back then…"

"Consider yourself lucky though. Based on my experience with certain members of the Public Safety Department, they really mean business."

Haqua slowly felt a little bit more relaxed with her visitor. "To think I'm receiving sound advice from a fellow Topnotcher from the RSS Academy. It really is an honor."

"No need to sugar-coat it, Haqua. We're all here doing what we were told to do anyway. Speaking of which, are you in any way familiar with that girl with the odango hair?"

"Um, you mean the one who's been with Katsuragi recently, aside from Elsie?"

"Yes. So far, the only info I have are the ones regarding those Goddesses who attend the same school as the two."

"Well…"

Haqua then set up her Hagoromo as a small computer screen.

"According to the data I currently have, apart from being a host to one of the Jupiter Sisters, she was originally registered as Nora's capture target. It may explain why Vintage never targeted her when they were looking for Keima's previous capture targets.."

"And that explains the discrepancy in Elsie's dossier…"

With that, Sylvia rose from her seat and checked her watch; it now read 5:30 in the evening, which meant that she had to return home and cook dinner.

"I appreciate your help on the matter, Haqua. You guys need not worry about looming threats related to the fully-grown Weiss; just make sure they reach neither Katsuragi, nor any of the Jupiter Sisters."

"How will you deal with them in the first place? Just six of us new devils are already no match for a mere Level-4."

Sylvia turned to her after picking up her scythe near the front door.

"Hey, need not worry about that. I'm sure me and my human buddy can get a few aces up our sleeves. And besides, do remember that we have faced Level-4 threats before…" She uttered, while giving a confident thumbs-up.

X=X=X=X=X=X

A few hours earlier…

"This labyrinth that the God of Conquest left me is starting to get interesting…" Suzaku thought while going through the details of Keima's 'conquests' via a piece of Sylvia's Hagoromo, particularly those girls which he had marked hours ago. However, there remained a huge discrepancy.

"So far, I can aver that Aoyama Mio is definitely unrelated to Katsuragi, notwithstanding the fact that she was a previous capture target. Furthermore, the memory rearrangement team did quite a job at assuring that she would not have a clear recollection of the encounter."

With that, he closed Mio's file and proceeded to the other file of interest. "As to Kosaka though…"

Looking into the details of Keima's encounter with Chihiro, Suzaku was quite surprised by the fact that the 'conquest proper' just lasted a few hours, compared to the others which went for two to three days. Then, there was her involvement during the search for the Goddess Hosts.

"Now why would a previous capture target, which clearly had her memories altered in order not to remember the 'conquest', be so involved in the pursuit for the Jupiter Sisters, particularly the one which resided within Takahara Ayumi?"

Before he could analyze the situation further, Chihiro arrived at the rooftop. Calmly, he packed the Hagoromo and slid it into his pocket before the girl could even see what he was doing.

"Um, I hope I am not bothering you or anything, Sensei…" the girl said, while bring out a notebook and pen.

"No, it's all right. This is for your own good, after all. And I know you have a lot to ask me regarding your essay."

"It's not about how I would write my essay though…"

"What do you mean?"

Chihiro then sat at the far end of the bench where Suzaku was sitting. "The reason why I was not able to pass my essay hours ago was due to my frustrations on writing what I experienced back then."

"Well," the teacher turns to Chihiro. "Answer me this one thing: what are the three things that come to your mind when I make mention of the Mai-High festival?"

"Well…" She had trouble answering, which prompted Suzaku to stand up from the bench.

"Ms. Kosaka, are you always this tongue-tied whenever something is asked of you, or is it the fact that you had a traumatic experience during the festival?"

"I'm not always tongue-tied, Sensei!" she exclaimed.

"Then why? What happened back then that made you this withdrawn, to the point that you cannot make mention of the festival?"

With those words, she slumped back to her seat. She thought of running away from him as he was asking too much. But she could not disrespect him. Not while she's asking him for help on her essay.

Suzaku let off a light sigh as he took a few steps towards the building's fiberglass barrier. "You know, I can clearly see that there's something that continues to bother you until now. Those little things you just showed me gave you away, to be honest."

Chihiro then bowed her head in grief. "Sensei, I'm just so scared of what people would think of me if I ever told them of what happened before…"

Suzaku remained unfazed of her actions. From his experience of drawing out runaway spirits within his targets, he oftentimes lets the target open up before thinking of a strategy. But then…

"… especially the part between me and Katsuragi…"

With that line, Suzaku got thinking. "Wait a second; this may be the opportunity to learn as to how she got involved in Keima's search for the Goddesses."

He then turned towards Chihiro and sat back at the bench, a few inches closer to her but still maintaining a distance. "No need to hide that feeling now. Care to enlighten me about what happened between you and Katsuragi?"

X=X=X=X=X=X


End file.
